Abstract

Summary

We applied the 2008 National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) Guidelines to Framingham Osteoporosis Study participants and found nearly one half of Caucasian postmenopausal women and one sixth of men aged 50 years and older would be recommended for osteoporosis treatment. Given the high proportion of persons recommended for treatment, NOF Guidelines may need to be re-evaluated with respect to budget impact.

Introduction

Little is known about the public health impact of the NOF Guidelines. Therefore, we determined the proportion of US Caucasians recommended for treatment of osteoporosis according to NOF Guidelines (2003 and 2008).

Methods

One thousand nine hundred and forty-six postmenopausal women and 1,681 men aged ≥50 years from the Framingham Study with information on bone mineral density (1987–2001) were included. Information on clinical predictors was used to estimate the 10-year probability of hip and major osteoporotic fracture by FRAX® (version 3.0).

Results

Overall proportion of women meeting treatment criterion was less when the 2008 NOF Guidelines were applied (41.1%) compared with 2003 Guidelines (47.8%). The proportion of women aged <65 years meeting treatment criterion was much less when applying 2008 Guidelines (23.1% in 2003, 8.3% in 2008), whereas the proportion of women aged >75 years increased slightly (78.3% in 2003, 86.0% in 2008). Seventeen percent of men aged ≥50 years met treatment criterion (2.5% aged 50–64 years, 49.8% aged >75 years).

Conclusions

Nearly one half of Caucasian postmenopausal women and one sixth of men aged 50 years and older would be recommended for osteoporosis treatment according to 2008 NOF Guidelines. Given the high proportion of persons recommended for treatment, NOF Guidelines may need to be re-evaluated with respect to budget impact.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1998) Tobacco use among U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups—African Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: a Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA